Midway through the 2024-25 home season, Pakistan switched strategies from all-pace to all-spin – and found astonishing success.
Having amassed 556 against England over nearly two days of batting at Multan, Pakistan would have felt safe. After all, there had been only two bigger scores by home teams in eventual defeats in Test cricket – and one of them was in the 19th century.
England reached 249-3. At that point Pakistan were a couple of wickets away from gaining the upper hand, but that never happened. They could not strike before the fourth day – after a 454-run stand in less than a full day’s cricket. Joe Root hit 262 in 375 balls. Harry Brook, 317 in 322. England’s scoring rate of 5.48 enabled them to bat until well into that afternoon. Despite batting an over fewer than Pakistan, England led by 267 – and won by an innings.
That one stand and eventual defeat did what ten Tests across four home series had failed to: they prompted Pakistan to make drastic changes and find a formula that would get them 20 wickets.
The barren phase
Pakistan’s last home series win had come against South Africa, back in 2020-21.
In 2021-22, they greeted Australia with three extremely flat surfaces. After two drab draws, a stunning session of old-ball fast bowlingby Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins – the kind one expects in Pakistan – followed by a bold declaration, led to Pakistan’s first home series defeat since 2007-08.
Later that year, England became the first team to clean-sweep Pakistan in Pakistan, that too by a 3-0 margin. In the same winter, they were content to keep New Zealand to a 0-0 draw. All five Tests were played on flat pitches. Even in the WTC era, Pakistan continued to stubbornly resist preparing bowler-friendly strips. It was almost as if they did not care for the WTC at all.
